Now, I am reading Orhan Pamuk's My Name is Red. Islam's external sexual moralism seems to not be transposed to the private sphere, according to my interpretation of this novel. It seems that Christianity is the only religion which demands external and internal subordination to the will of God.

Terms for Eternity: Aiônios and Aïdios in Classical and Christian Texts.

Logged

If you will, you can become all flame.Extra caritatem nulla salus.In order to become whole, take the "I" out of "holiness". सर्वभूतहितἌνω σχῶμεν τὰς καρδίας"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is." -- Mohandas GandhiY dduw bo'r diolch.

Orthodox-wise, my husband and I are reading The Lenten Spring and I'm reading St. Basil's Letters and Select Works.

Logged

She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

The Genius Within: Discovering the Intelligence of Every Living Thing, by Frank T. Vertosick, Jr.

A very interesting book so far. He argues that how we define intelligence and how we relate to the world is wrong. Ants, he says, are intelligent. So are bacteria. Why are tuna canned rather than dolphins? Where is the intelligence line in the sand, at which point we say "Ok, it's dumb enough to not care about killing it"? He doesn't argue that, say, an ant has the same level of intelligence as us, just that they are intelligent in their own way (his working definition of intelligence being: "the general ability to store past experiences and to use that acquired knowinge to solve future problems"). He's not a scientist (e.g. biologist) by profession, but a surgeon. His writing seems quite engaging to me (though I've found that my opinion on such things is often not shared).

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who can watch the watchmen?"No one is paying attention to your post reports"Why do posters that claim to have me blocked keep sending me pms and responding to my posts? That makes no sense.

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

Just started reading Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. Hopefully I'll finish it by the end of next week.

Logged

Psalm 57:2 "I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me."Psalm 62:1 "Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation."Psalm 59:9 "I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense."John 11:35 "Jesus wept."

I can't even tell you how much I love that book. I'm re-reading it for the umpteenth time. No time to pick up a new book because of work.

Logged

She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

Reading and re-reading my own book, making countless corrections, laboring to ensure that it is faithfully Orthodox, and oh yeah, trying to spot each and every little typo. Very tedious, but I hope that when it's all said and done that God will be glorified. If you think about it, I would greatly appreciate your prayers regarding this endeavor.

Selam

Logged

"God is a consuming fire. And His fire is love."+ Gebre Menfes Kidus +

I really enjoyed this. Just goes to show you the little gems you can stumble across now and then.

« Last Edit: April 04, 2011, 09:39:16 PM by Entscheidungsproblem »

Logged

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

Hanna Rosin - God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America

It is FASCINATING so far, and also really sad...

Logged

She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

Gebre - God be with you in your writing endeavor. May your work add to the greater glory of God!

It looks like you all have good Orthodox books to read for Lent. I probably ought to find something holy to read. I have spent the last few weeks working through the first chapter of Street Without Joy.

I just finished reading Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church by Thomas J. Reese (former editor at America), published way back in 1989. I really wish there was an updated version on today's Catholic Church, and also a comparable book for the Orthodox Church.

I'm acquainted a with a monastery founded by one of Taixu's followers (Ven. Yin Shun). I have great respect for the monks and nuns I met there. While they are "modern" in their humanistic social concerns, what struck me is that they are very much a revival of classical big-tent Chinese Buddhism in the vein of Tiantai and Huayan. I also appreciated the lack of guru/ "Zen master" worship- none of the monks, even the abbot, put on airs of being enlightened masters. There was just a straightforward teaching of Buddhism without any antics or affectation.

Logged

Quote

But it had not been in Tess's power - nor is it in anybody's power - to feel the whole truth of golden opinions while it is possible to profit by them. She - and how many more - might have ironically said to God with Saint Augustine, "Thou hast counselled a better course than thou hast permitted."

I'm acquainted a with a monastery founded by one of Taixu's followers (Ven. Yin Shun). I have great respect for the monks and nuns I met there. While they are "modern" in their humanistic social concerns, what struck me is that they are very much a revival of classical big-tent Chinese Buddhism in the vein of Tiantai and Huayan. I also appreciated the lack of guru/ "Zen master" worship- none of the monks, even the abbot, put on airs of being enlightened masters. There was just a straightforward teaching of Buddhism without any antics or affectation.

It has been a really interesting read so far. I have a friend who attends the local Fo Guang Shan temple and I was interested in what made them different.

Logged

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

Gebre, If you don't mind my asking, were you thinking about going through an Orthodox publisher, or something non-Orthodox? I was surprised when I read the Writers Market book, that Orthodox publishers (of which there are quite a few) were completely absent.

Gebre, If you don't mind my asking, were you thinking about going through an Orthodox publisher, or something non-Orthodox? I was surprised when I read the Writers Market book, that Orthodox publishers (of which there are quite a few) were completely absent.

I'm self-publishing it with Author House right now. But Conciliar has expressed some interest. So, I'm trying to go through it and make sure it's as thoroughly Orthodox as possible. The potential problems I anticipate are:

1) It contains some OO Christological opinions (although I have plenty of quotes from EO Saints as well, and I have tried to emphasize that I believe our Churches hold the same doctrine regarding Christ).

2) It contains some controversial views such as my pacifist position, my view of politics, and my criticism of America.

3) I don't really have any credentials (e.g. I'm not a member of the clergy, I don't have letters behind my name, and I'm relatively new to Orthodoxy).

But, I think that the book will have something for everybody, and I have tried hard to support my opinions with plenty of Scripture and quotes from the Fathers. I truly want it to glorify God and help bring people to Orthodoxy.

Thanks for your prayers.

Selam

Logged

"God is a consuming fire. And His fire is love."+ Gebre Menfes Kidus +

Del Ray and Cordwainer Smith... you're getting into some of the good old SF writers that I read when I was a kid. I'm glad that you're enjoying them. Have you read others by Smith?

For Christmas I received The Rediscovery of Man, so I've been slowly getting my way through it. I've finished all of the "Other stories", and about 1/4 way through the rest. So far my favourite would have to be "When the People Fell".

Logged

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

Re-reading a favorite, Slavenka Drakulic's How we Survived Communism and Even Laughed.

Haven't had too much time to read...but I'm also reading Metropolitan Kallistos' The Orthodox Way at night. It's as good as everyone else has said! I'm working through the Trinity chapter right now and I think it's a great primer for anyone considering the faith or looking to compare it to the RC beliefs on the subject.

Logged

She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

But it had not been in Tess's power - nor is it in anybody's power - to feel the whole truth of golden opinions while it is possible to profit by them. She - and how many more - might have ironically said to God with Saint Augustine, "Thou hast counselled a better course than thou hast permitted."